Girl Time

Kyoto Day 2

Standard

We decided to walk to the Kyoto Railway Museum this morning. It was supposed to rain but we planned to arrive before the rain started. We succeeded.

There were several school groups there this morning, but we really enjoyed it. There were several different trains to look at and explore. The museum also had several hands on exhibits with buttons and levers. Clarissa was able to pretend to drive several different trains.

Clarissa lasted longer than Tim though. I think it is a great choice for families with young children. Teenagers might get bored quickly. The price was great. Adults pay 1200 yen (about $12). Clarissa is 3 so we had to pay for her as well, but only 200 yen ($2).

There were 3 floors of exhibits in the main building, two sections of trains outside, and two additional smaller buildings. I enjoyed the ability to go under a train to see what the motor and suspension looks like from below.

The third floor had a great view of the shinkansen train (bullet train) if you paid attention to the schedule when they were to pass by.

The second floor also had a play area for kids to build train tracks on their own with several small trains as well. There was also a model train set up for kids to crawl under so that they were eye level with the trains.

We thought about visiting the Kyoto Aquarium as well since it was right next to the railway museum. But it didn’t get great reviews and was expensive for the size. It was 2000 yen ($20) for adults. So we decided to skip it.

We walked to the mall for lunch and then headed across the street to the train station. We wanted to see Nijo jo (castle). Honestly, we were not impressed. The Osaka castle was more ornate and easier to get to. Nijo jo was a much larger complex and right off the subway. However, it was gravel everywhere which was hard to navigate with a stroller. Parts also had large steps without ramps so we would take turns going up to take pictures.

We were all tired and cranky and it was starting to rain, so we decided to head back early. This time, we got off at a different train station because Tim wanted to see what we could find on the way back to the hotel.

We had a very relaxing afternoon in the room. I was able to finish reading my Kindle book so I need to work on a review for that because it was a very encouraging read for me.

We decided to take it easy and eat dinner across the street at Royal Host. We got Clarissa in to bed pretty close to the normal time this morning. But I will say that a two year old on vacation was way easier than a three year old on vacation…